Julio Bashmore heads stateside

The Bristol-based artist’s popularity has been on the rise since his debut on Dirtybird in 2010, though 2012 was arguably his biggest year yet. His party-friendly, bass-heavy house sound has earned him plenty of fans across the board. Though he’s been somewhat quiet on the release front as of late, focusing mostly on touring, earlier this year he founded his own Broadwalk imprint which saw a sizable hit with its first release, “Au Seve.”

In December, Bashmore will head to the US for his first North American gigs in over a year. His stint will begin on the 13th in NYC, when he headlines a joint party by The Dog & Pony Show and Turrbotax at Le Poisson Rouge. The next day he’ll head to California, starting off in LA for A Club Called Rhonda at Los Globos, where he’s supported by Rhonda resident Goddollars. His weekend will wrap up on the 15th in San Francisco, for Lights Down Low at a TBA location in the Mission District. For that gig, local artist Matrixxman (AKA 5kinAndBone5) will back him up with residents Richie Panic, Sleazemore and A-Plus.

UR1 Festival postponed due to bad weather

Following rumors of cancellation, the team behind Miami music festival UR1 has announced it will be postponed due to foreseeable inclement weather.

With a lineup that included everyone from Kanye West to Sven Väth, as well as individual stages curated by Cocoon, Circo Loco, and Space, UR1 seemed poised to become a major player, with the sprawling lineup capitalizing on the influx of visitors to Miami over Art Basel weekend. The official reasons given for the postponement are “foreseeable inclement weather conditions in the Miami-Dade and South Florida region,” as well as continued effects of Hurricane Sandy. Could poor ticket sales have also had an effect on the decision to postpone?

UR1 has promised to honor all tickets previously purchased for the new dates, which will be “announced shortly.”

UKF launching in Australia with Benga-led NYD bash

For dubstep and drum & bass devotees, UKF needs no introduction. The UK bass brand has long been responsible for releases and events around the world and after cracking a milestone 1 billion views on YouTube, they’ve announced the next frontier: Sydney. UKF has announced it’s launching in Australia with UKF Sydney, a big New Year’s Day event taking over Space Nightclub.

Naturally, a big Australian launch wouldn’t be complete without some huge names on the bill and UKF have gone straight to the top. So if you though it was strange that dubstep don Benga was coming all the way to Australia for one lone New Year’s show in WA for Origin, it ought make some sense that he’s stepping into the headline slot at UKF Sydney. With a string of big new singles to his name this year ( I Will Never Change, Icon and Pour Your Love) as well as legendary back-catalogue to dip into, Benga’s certainly equipped to lead a heaving set. But he’s not going it alone – joining the Big Apple Records pioneer is BBC Radio 1’s resident drum & bass presenter Friction and fellow Brit Gemini. Then hosting the night is longtime Benga ally Youngman and Linguistics, and there’s more acts yet to be announced.

UKF Sydney kicks off at 9pm on January 1, meaning there’s plenty of time to sleep off that NYE hangover before you head in. Better yet, tickets are going for a very reasonable $35+BF and are available now through The Ticket Fairy.

R.I.P. Brainfeeder Affiliate and Pianist, Austin Peralta

Pianist, composer, and Brainfeeder affiliate Austin Peralta has passed away. He was 22 years old. The cause of death has not been confirmed. Peralta released the Endless Planets LP on Brainfeeder in 2011, and appeared on Flying Lotus’ Until the Quiet Comes. He had also worked with Erykah Badu, Jaga Jazzist, and the Cinematic Orchestra, and was in the process of making another record for the L.A. label.

The incredibly talented Californian composer was a prolific artist: aged 15, he toured his piano compositions as part of a trio, and released two albums in Japan before turning 16.

Brainfeeder has posted a tribute to Peralta on their site. Flying Lotus tweeted: “it kills me to type that we lost a member of our family, Austin Peralta. I don’t really have the right words right now…we are very thankful to have had him in our lives!” thankful that he left such beautiful music with us.”

The Brainfeeder shows scheduled for this weekend’s Electraglide Festival, to be held in Tokyo, had been cancelled as a result of Peralta’s death– however, Flying Lotus recently tweeted, “scratch that.. JAPAN we’re coming! GENKI DAMAAAAAAA,” suggesting that the shows are back on. (Clarification might be slow to manifest due to the holiday.)

Video: John Tejada “Orbiter”

Today, we’re happy to premiere the surreal “Orbiter” video from techno maven and recentB2B conversationalist with Robert Hood John Tejada, in which a perplexed protagonist is surrouneded by imagery that matches the song’s powerfully mechanical overtones. The lost man seems to be on an endless quest as he wanders through cold, empty spaces and other desaturated, industrial landscapes. The song is a cut from Tejada’s recently releasedThe Predicting Machine, but has also just appeared as a single with remixes by Simian Mobile Disco via Kompakt.